I don't really care about ideology and doctrine any more. I just care about what works. I'm going to take a few (somewhat controversial) subjects and explain what I mean. Fundamentally, I believe that all energy companies should be nationalised and there should be a single energy supplier. I don't want to pay a dozen CEOs, a dozen finance teams, and for a dozen advertising campaigns.…
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There's a popular meme that Internet connected domestic appliances are a useless fad that no-one wants. I disagree. Obviously, a crappy oven with an app that upsells you cleaning products is a bit shit. As is a dishwasher that borks on firmware update and lets itself be hacked by the Eurasians. But those are just a symptom of profit-led development rather than placing a priority on user-needs. …
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This isn't an original idea, but I needed to get it out of my brain. There are many different definitions of what "Open Source". We can have a lovely argument over a pint as to whether GPLv3 is too open or if a licence which hasn't been validated by the OSI counts. But, more fundamentally, I think Open Source roughly falls into seven levels. These aren't in any particular order of importance.…
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I love single player VR puzzle games. Especially ones with no timers, baddies, or jump-scares. I just want to play against myself. Labyrinth deLux is brilliant. The puzzle is simple enough - point lasers at mirrors, then align mirrors until they point at the target. You've almost certainly played a 2D version of this. But it has a mind-bending 3D layout which requires you to continually walk…
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Oppenheimer is... fine? I guess? For ever gorgeously composed shot, there's a minute of plodding exposition. For every heart-breaking moment of self-doubt, there's a minute of plodding exposition. For every celebrity cameo, there's a minute of plodding exposition. That's why this is a decidedly average film. Every single actor is incredible - stuffed as it is with Oscar winners and nominees. …
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Microsoft loves you and wants to protect you. So every time you receive an email with a link in it, Microsoft Outlook helpfully rewrites it so that it goes through their "safelinks" system. Safelinks allow your administrator, or someone at Microsoft, to stop you visiting a link which is malicious or suspicious. Rather than going to example.com, your link now goes to…
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This book is a rather pleasing wander through two interconnected topics. From the earliest chat rooms (A/S/L?) all the way to haptic-feedback in the Metaverse, this breezes through the way sex has advanced the technology and the resulting impact technology has had on sex. The book is well illustrated - skirting a fine line between being overly prudish and unnecessarily graphic. There are…
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I've written an ActivityPub server which only allows you to post messages to your followers. That's all it does. It won't record favourites or reposts. There's no support for following other accounts or receiving replies. It cannot delete or update posts nor can it verify signatures. It doesn't have a database or any storage beyond flat files. But it will happily send messages and allow…
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I love Fforde's provincial epics. They are dystopias set in the endless wastelands of suburban England. Whole new worlds brought to life in sleepy villages. The Constant Rabbit isn't exactly subtle in its politics - fears that "the Rabbits" might out-breed us leads to a rise in an anti-rabbit dictatorship. But it is the way he deftly weaves polemic and punchline that is so delightful. …
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Like a million fans, I have a precious memory of (briefly) meeting Terry Pratchett and getting him to sign something amusing. I hold on to it dearly. This is half-way between a biography and autobiography. Parts were clearly dictated and recorded prehumously and are interspersed with observations from others. Terry's voice shines through although, as forevermore, I was left longing for…
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This deserves all the accolades going. A perfectly rendered tale of childhood best-friends-forever growing up and trying to make video-games. It is funny, well observed, and grim. It's sort of like Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity" for the 21st century. There's a desperately sad trope about how some men believe that women are a video-game where, if you put enough friendship in, you eventually get…
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A dark and shadowy figure is using laptops to terrorise a school and convert its pupils into mindless automata. Only one person can stop this dastardly scheme - Kate Winslet! Who, for some reason, plays a 15 year old. Because she is 15. Because this is 1991 and Russell T Davies has written one of his first proper dramas for the telly. Albeit Children's BBC - but we've all go to start…
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